20 April 2022 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
We hope all our readers have had a lovely long weekend and enjoyed some great spring weather (bearing in mind the broad range that spring weather encompasses!).
We have got a slightly shorter Digest for you this week, given the recent bank holidays.
BUFDG
Don’t forget that whether you attended the BUFDG Finance Festival or not, all BUFDG members can access all the session recordings and slides on our website. This week we’d recommend the Mills and Reeve session on ‘Navigating the challenges of a turbulent time – universities and internationalisation’, a fascinating look at tackling this issue from a number of angles including academic freedoms, sustainability and technology.
GENERAL
With the closure of ALRA (the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts) earlier this month, Wonkhe has been looking at what happened in the specific ALRA situation. While students are all being offered a place at Rose Bruford College, questions remain over who knew (or ought to have known) what and when, and what OfS can/should do in these situations. And on this note, Wonkhe has also been considering what happens to insolvent providers more generally (concluding that it’s still unclear).
You may have received a reminder from the DfE last week requesting your input into the consultation on the Lifelong Loan Entitlement. The consultation closes on 6 May and you may be interested in Karel's thoughts on the matter, which she shares on the FD discussion board.
In a HEPI blog post, John Cater asks ‘where’s the public recognition?’ of how universities rose to the COVID challenge. He seems to get to the heart of the matter when he states, ‘[a]s a collective, universities have increasingly lost public support’, and describes how media professionals at political parties ‘know what resonates with their key audiences. And … it is not universities.’ But he also provides a great summary of the significant contribution universities made to the UK (and global) response to the pandemic, which is good to reflect on when you find yourself having a tough day.
And on the subject of reflecting on the great work that you contribute to via your university, the SFC recently published a report on the impact of Scottish research, finding many examples of Scottish research contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Interestingly, the SFC has also now produced a recent set of news articles highlighting specific projects in Scottish universities, with a UN SDG symbol next to each one showing which of the UN SDGs the topic of that article relates to.
There was a lot of news coverage last week following analysis published by IFS that showed that, for a limited period, English graduates from 2012 onwards with outstanding student loans would be paying an interest of 12%. There’s a delay in how the cap on interest rates is applied as it follows changes in inflation which, in normal times might seem reasonable, but in the current inflationary wild-west subjects graduates to some freakish conditions. The original IFS piece is clear enough but there are summaries from the BBC, Guardian, and numerous other outlets. The first stop though should be at Jim Dickinson in Wonkhe, who explains why some have got the wrong end of the stick, and just what a mess that student finance system is in. As he puts it: “If your choice is between something that sounds good but turns out to be regressive, or something that is progressive but sounds bad when you announce it, what do you do?”
In March the OfS announced a review of blended learning, and last week we heard more about the scope of the review, including that this has been based on ‘routine data returns that come to us through the year, responses to consultations, providers’ reportable events, public enquiries and notifications from students and other stakeholders’. This also included ‘a large sample of free-text responses to the new ‘coronavirus’ questions in the National Student Survey 2020’. It is notable that in both OfS announcements the emphasis is entirely on the negative aspects of online and blended learning (which nobody is likely to argue were very real, particularly during the pandemic scramble to get online in 2020). While the announcements acknowledge that ‘[t]here are many ways for blended courses to be successfully delivered’, there is no mention of the possible (and sometimes actual) positives of well structured (rather than reactive) blended learning, such as higher quality recordings available to all students, more learning options for neuro-diverse students and those who find in-person teaching intimidating etc.
The review will work with several providers representing a range of regional geography, provider size and subject specialisms. It will be interesting to see whether the final report (expected in the summer) finds many examples of high-quality blended provision that we can all learn from, and positive examples of where blended learning has helped students.
TAX AND PAYROLL
The latest round of our International Tax roundtable meetings are taking place next week IN PERSON – in Birmingham on 25th April, Newcastle on 26th, London on 27th, and Bristol on 28th. There are still spaces left so BOOK NOW (using the links above) to learn out about the latest international tax issues, find out how your counterparts in other universities are dealing with them, and to meet others working in international tax at other HEIs (and enjoy a real cup of coffee with real people!). These meetings are free to attend.
If you want to know the difference between the current customs/import system, CHIEF, and the new one coming in later this year, CDS, then we have a free Time to Talk session from The Customs People on CDS vs CHIEF on 27th April.
And in case you missed it there is the very exciting news that booking is now open for the IN PERSON 2022 tax conference! You can have a look at the early version of the timetable here and (most importantly) book your place here – the conference takes place at Burleigh Court, Loughborough University on 15th-16th June and costs £600 (inc. VAT) for a full two-day ticket with dinner and accommodation.
We’re currently creating the first of four customs-related e-learning courses: Import Basics for Finance Staff. Would you like to help us test it once it’s ready? We don’t have a timescale on testing just yet, but if you’re interested in testing the course please let Amanda know and we’ll be in touch when we’ve got some dates.
If your university runs a museum or gallery that operates as a section 33A body for VAT, make sure the museum is aware that the relaxation of the s33A eligibility requirements (e.g. around opening hours etc.) will cease from 1 May 2022.
For all the latest Easter tax updates for HE, check out the latest issue of TaxHE.
SUSTAINABILITY AND PROCUREMENT
If you missed it at the BUFDG Finance Festival, take a look at the panel discussion on Ethical Procurement and Modern Slavery – the expert panel was made up of Peter Pawlicki (Electronics Watch), Dr Bela Aurora (Reader in International Business Management, Manchester Metropolitan University), Lawa Strangways (Global Rights Compliance), Prof Olga Martin-Ortega (Professor of International Law, University of Greenwich) and Tim Aldred (Fairtrade Foundation).
E-LEARNING – SPOTLIGHT ON ‘BUILDING INFLUENCE AND MAKING AN IMPACT’
We launched this brand-new course just over a week ago, and whilst ostensibly a course for business partners, the course is designed to help build anyone build their influencing, negotiating and assertiveness skills.
So even if you’re not a business partner you could definitely benefit from this course if you want to:
We created the course in our new e-learning software, with accessibility in mind when we created it. It uses various techniques including videos and interactive scenarios, so we hope you will enjoy it as well as building your skills.
We’d love to hear your feedback on this course (whether that be on the content, the presentation/new software or the accessibility), as it’s important to know whether members like the new software and whether anyone with digital accessibility needs finds the course accessible.
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
BUFDG recently launched a new mentoring scheme, and we are currently getting our initial mentors and ‘mentees’ registered so that we have enough critical mass for the scheme to get going. We are keen to encourage more people to register as mentors, and we have been providing free training for anyone interested in doing this. We have another free training session for potential mentors TOMORROW (21st April) and there are still a couple of spaces left, so if you think you have something to offer as a mentor, book now!
Anyone can be a mentor if they have skills to pass on, with the only requirements being to have the time and commitment to participate. Mentors should be prepared to invest (approximately) one hour per month in the scheme. Mentoring relationships are finite and should come to a natural end when the mentee’s objectives have been achieved
You can sign up for the mentoring scheme as a mentor or a mentee (or, indeed, both). And you can find out more about the scheme on our mentoring webpage or by watching the recording of the launch session at the Finance Festival last month.
We’re running a two-part course on Effective Data Visualisation for Finance during the mornings of 28th and 29th April. The course is being held online, costs £150 and covers:
JOB OF THE FORTNIGHT
Our Job of the Fortnight is for a Head of Internal Audit at Newcastle University. The role is ‘a highly specialised position providing robust and objective assurance on, and insight and advice about, the design and operation of effective governance, risk management and internal control arrangements.’ The successful candidate will ‘develop a strategy to deliver a high-quality internal audit and assurance service, covering all areas of the University’s activities’ and ‘will plan, direct and manage an effective programme of internal audit reviews delivered through a team of professional staff’. The deadline for applications is 15 May.
As always, there are lots of other vacancies available on the BUFDG jobs page.
